New: Erasmus+ master degree loans for international students

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Published on Friday, 20 January 2017

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is working with the University of Luxembourg to launch a new pilot scheme, allowing students to defer tuition fees and student accommodation rent payments for two years. This agreement will support students from any of the 32 other Erasmus+ Programme Countries to move to Luxembourg in order to undertake their Masters programme at its university.

The new EUR 5 million pilot scheme is expected to benefit more than 300 master students. The University of Luxembourg will not require any collateral or third party guarantees and will offer the new programme at favourable conditions, for example a 5-year repayment plan.

The agreement between the EIF and the University of Luxembourg is the first of its kind in Europe and benefits from the Erasmus+ loan guarantee scheme, funded by the European Union and managed by EIF.

EIF deputy Chief Executive Roger Havenith said: “Rising education costs is often cited as one of the barriers preventing students from leaving their home countries to study abroad. This new pilot scheme with EIF and the University of Luxembourg will ease access to Masters level education without the added burden of upfront costs for EU students.”

Commissioner Tibor Navracsics welcomed this first agreement with a university, saying: "This contract with the University of Luxembourg marks a new chapter for the Erasmus+ Master Loan Scheme. The involvement and commitment of universities is one of the big strengths of Erasmus+ and helps us continuously improve the programme. New initiatives to support student mobility such as the Master Loan scheme open up fresh opportunities to students and universities alike, and I encourage more universities to take advantage of them.”

Special advisor Fundraising and former Vice-president of the University of Luxembourg, Eric Tschirhart said: “As the most international higher education institution in Europe, the University of Luxembourg is at the forefront of recruitment of student talents through Erasmus+ and excels as a model of a European research university in the 21st century. The new pilot scheme is an essential action to support new incoming master students to Luxembourg and contributes to the EU Youth Strategy and the Europe 2020 strategy”.

The EU Erasmus+ guarantee scheme allows EIF to provide capped guarantees and counter-guarantees to financial intermediaries which in turn grant loans to students who will move to undertake a full Master's degree in another country taking part in the Erasmus+ programme.

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EIF has launched a Call for Expression of Interesttargeting financial institutions and other intermediaries which provide finance to mobile master students.

Communication: European Investment Fund (EIF) & University of Luxembourg